Reduced ICPT surcharge expected to lower prices of goods, says PM Anwar

BUTTERWORTH: The reduction in the Imbalance Cost Pass-Through (ICPT) surcharge rate for commercial and industrial users is expected to bring down the prices of goods, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

The Prime Minister said the government had agreed to lower the ICPT surcharge rate for large companies to enable them to assist efforts to reduce the prices of goods.

“We will monitor whether this reduction in electricity rates will lead to a decrease in the prices of goods,” he told a press conference here on Saturday (June 29).

Anwar said the Federal Government was implementing targeted electricity subsidies, with the primary condition that it does not affect the interests of the majority of Malaysians.
The Energy Transition and Water Transformation Ministry (Petra) had announced earlier that there would be no increase in electricity tariffs for all electricity users in Peninsular Malaysia from July 1 to Dec 31.

In a statement, Petra had said the government agreed to lower the surcharge by 1 sen/kWh for street lighting category (tariffs G and G1) under the supervision of the local authorities (PBT) while commercial and industrial users will experience a reduction in the ICPT rate of 1 sen/kWh for the same period.

Earlier, Anwar chaired the Penang Bumiputera Development Council Meeting at The Light Hotel here.

According to Anwar, the meeting, which ran for about two hours from 5.50pm, discussed issues affecting the Malay and Bumiputera communities in Penang, as well as programmes that could be organised to assist them.

Also present were Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Dr Mohammad Abdul Hamid and State Trade, Entrepreneurial Development and Rural Development Committee chairman Rashidi Zinol.- Bernama